Create the Beachy Look

Create the Beachy Look

One super easy way to create the beachy look is by using a texturizing medium added to your paint. Of course the right colours help too so we have created a blog post to walk you through the steps.

We started with a very cute little table. At this time of year I could see it fitting nicely on a patio, sunroom or even on a dock beside the lake…ok, I am starting to dream about transporting myself lakeside and have to concentrate…

We had a choice with the table. Spend the time (and dust) sanding all the marks smooth, or use a texturing medium straight on to an unprepared surface to hide all the flaws. The second choice won out. And as a bonus we are going to choose colours for a beachy look.

The texturizing mediums that ReLoving stocks are Saltwash out of the States. Yes, it really has salt in it and dries super fast. Or, Country Chic Paint’s texturizing medium. They both behave about the same. We don’t like the smell of Fusion’s texturing medium so don’t stock it. Can you remember the scent of perm solution?

The blues and greens we chose to mix with texturizing will form the base layer and is applied with a brush directly to the wood. In this case we used Tropical, Dune Grass and Icicle – all by Country Chic. Usually, I look for containers of paint that are almost finished and add about equal parts of texturizing so that the solution will hold its shape – i.e. make a few peaks when jabbed at with the brush. These peaks are what will ‘peek’ out through our second layer of paint. We will apply the second layer, paint only, once the first layer with texturizing is dry.

We applied one colour at a time until most of the wood was covered.

Here is a close up.

After it dried we used a brush to apply Fusion Casement over the entire surface. One coat was enough. We let it dry to the touch before giving it an all-over sand. We love our electric sander and used a 220 grit. The sanding ‘uncovered’ the peaks of blues and greens resulting in a beachy look.

The final step was to protect it from the wet weather and spills with a coat of 10% sheen Saman (flat, water-based varnish). We let it dry overnight before applying varnish to ensure the moisture would be evaporated before we sealed it with varnish. I like the slight sheen it gives.

There it is! Follow along with your own project or have fun and experiment.